Published 4:00 am, Thursday, April 30, 1998

1998-04-30 04:00:00 PDT BAY AREA -- Hundreds of items pilfered by the "Fitness Bandit" from cars at workout spots throughout the Bay Area will be displayed Saturday so owners can identify their property, police said yesterday.

CD players, gym bags, wallets and a golf bag with a lone club will be included in the viewing, but the loot will be kept as evidence until the man who allegedly stole it has his day in court.

Police said 36-year-old Robert Messier of Oakland stockpiled the stolen property from more than 100 cars whose windows were smashed in four Bay Area counties over the past year. The cars were parked at gyms and trailheads.

"Basically, he figured that people weren't going to take their valuables inside," said East Bay Regional Park police Detective Sergeant Pete Small.

Messier was arrested on unrelated theft warrants March 21 while with two friends at Lafayette Reservoir. His friends tried to drive off in a BMW with a cracked windshield, and an East Bay Municipal Utility District ranger noticed that the BMW and Messier matched descriptions provided by a witness to a November 23 auto burglary at the reservoir.

Detectives then found allegedly stolen property during a search of Messier's duplex on Keith Drive in Oakland on March 23.

Messier is suspected of stealing items from cars throughout the Bay Area. Those wishing to identify their property should bring a copy of the police report, including a list of stolen items, to the East Bay Regional Park Police Department at 17930 Lake Chabot Road in Castro Valley between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday. Anyone who can't attend should call (510) 881-1833.